Brachiosaurus
Brachiosaurus ("arm lizard") is a genus of sauropod dinosaur that lived in North America during the Late Jurassic, about 154–153 million years ago. Brachiosaurus was once thought to have lived in both the United States and Africa (Tanzania) in the Jurassic; scientists believe that Africa and North America were connected during the Jurassic. However, the African species of Brachiosaurus is now thought to be a different genus, called Giraffatitan. Brachiosaurus is estimated to have been between 55 and 70 ft long; weight estimates range from 30 and 65 tons. It had a disproportionately long neck, small skull, and large overall size, all of which are typical for sauropods. Atypically, Brachiosaurus had longer forelimbs than hindlimbs, which resulted in a steeply inclined trunk, and a proportionally shorter tail. Specimens of Brachiosaurus altithorax were recreated by InGen for exhibition in Jurassic Park. History .]] Brachiosaurus was intended as an attraction at InGen's Jurassic Park on Isla Nublar. The species was recreated by InGen in their compound on Isla Sorna where the workers on the island served as their caretakers. Several specimens were bred and brought to Nublar, where they lived in the Brachiosaurus Enclosure alongside the hadrosaur Parasaurolophus. The species was present on Nublar during the onset of the 1993 Isla Nublar Incident which subsequently led to the abandoning of Jurassic Park and to the financial ruin of InGen. The surviving specimens on Nublar were left to fend for themselves after InGen abandoned Nublar. Shortly after the events on Nublar, Hurricane Clarissa swept over InGen's production facilities on Sorna; this, combined with InGen's near-bankruptcy following the shutdown of Jurassic Park, forced the corporation to abandon their operations on Sorna as well. However, before leaving the island, several InGen personnel decided to free many of the animals into the wilderness so that they might fend for themselves in the absence of human care. Brachiosaurus was among the species freed during this incident. Several other species, including the large Chinese sauropod Mamenchisaurus, were released as well, and still others escaped the facilities themselves in the chaos of the storm. Once in the wild, Brachiosaurus ''roamed across many of the uplands of Sorna's western interior, living alongside other herbivores such as ''Parasaurolophus, Stegosaurus, and Triceratops. Much like the other herbivores on the island, the wild Brachiosaurus ate plants rich in lysine to counter the lysine contingency. On Nublar, the wild Brachiosaurs survived using a similar strategy of lysine consumption, and never strayed very far from their original paddocks. Nublar's Tyrannosaurus, Rexy, even attempted to hunt the Brachiosaurs on several occasions, but was unsuccessful. Physiology Like all sauropod dinosaurs, Brachiosaurus was a quadruped with a small skull, a long neck, a large trunk with a high-ellipsoid cross section, a long, muscular tail and slender, columnar limbs. Large air sacs connected to the lung system were present in the neck and trunk, invading the vertebrae and ribs by bone resorption, greatly reducing the overall density of the body. The neck was held in a slight S-curve, with the lower and upper sections bent and a straight middle section. Brachiosaurus likely shared with Giraffatitan the very elongated neck ribs, which ran down the underside of the neck, overlapping several preceding vertebrae. These bony rods were attached to neck muscles at their ends, allowing these muscles to operate distal portions of the neck while themselves being located closer to the trunk, lightening the distal neck portions. Brachiosaurus.|left]] The clones of Brachiosaurus altithorax created by InGen differed from their original counterparts in size; while the Brachiosaurus reached sizes of around 30 feet in height, InGen's clones were known to reach heights of up to 50 feet. While the original Brachiosaurus held its neck at more of an incline, the clones held their heads nearly vertically. The clones were engineered to be able to chew their food, unlike the original Brachiosaurus and other sauropods, which meant that the Brachiosaur clones didn't require gastroliths to aid in digestion. Also, unlike the original dinosaur, the cloned Brachiosaurus had hind legs strong enough to allow them to get into a tripod stance while feeding. Another odd characteristic was the nostrils, which were located on the forehead rather than near the snout region. The Brachiosaurus communicated using whale-like hoots. .]] The Brachiosaurs on Nublar came in two different colors, one being gray-brown, and the other being gray-brown with a creamy underbelly and turquoise tinge on their crests; it is believed that the ones with turquoise are males and the plain brown ones are females. The Brachiosaurs on Sorna came in another variety as well: beige with green stripes, with males having dark red on their crests. Category:Brachiosauridae Category:Herbivores Category:Isla Nublar species Category:Isla Sorna species Category:Jurassic species Category:Jurassic Park species Category:Dinosaurs Category:North American species